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A major row has broken out on the Barbican Estate over Nicolas Hare Architects’ plans for a school expansion, which residents claim will be ‘a major threat to the architectural heritage’ of the listed complex

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The latest AJ features three Manchester projects: SimpsonHaugh Architects’ No 1 Spinningfields office building; Roof Gardens low-rise, high-density housing by Ollier Smurthwaite; and BDP’s extension and refurbishment of the Alliance Manchester Business School. And we investigate whether Manchester City Region can meet its ambitious carbon target while continuing to grow upwards and outwards. PLUS The architects who ...

London Calling: MARCIE LARIZADEH, MICHAEL SQUIRE

What was the last book you read? It's a book I'm reading at the moment called A Fez of the Heart which is about the history of the fez in Turkish culture.

How often do you eat out?Very regularly, at least five times a week.

What is your favourite restaurant? Euphorium is the place I go to quite regularly because it happens to be close to my flat.

Where do you buy your clothes? If I've got the money I'd like to buy at Agnes b, but otherwise whatever money I have at hand.

What is your favourite shop? I really don't have one.

What colour is your bedroom? White with an unfortunately grey carpet, which would like to be wooden flooring.

What sort of music do you most enjoy listening to? A combination of things, at the moment I'm listening to quite a lot of Celia Cruz.

What is your favourite accessory? Rings.

What design item do you most covet? An Eileen Gray day-bed.

Have you got a design solution to an everyday problem, which you haven't already put into practice? I get really irritated with Tetrapaks, they only have to do two things, hold the milk then open and pour the milk without spilling it. They should make it all out of glass, put it back into bottles.

How green are you? As much as I can be, I don't go out of my way but I do recycle and come to work by tube.

What do you do in your spare time? Spend time with my friends and try to travel. I don't have as much spare time as I'd like, but I try to find as much as I can.

What do you think architects are best at? Architects are best at having ideas, but often not best at putting them into action.

Worst at? I think they are worst in many cases at listening, and allowing the brief to develop past their own preconceptions.

Would you want your children to be architects? Only if I had a lot of money to support them. No, it would be great. It's quite harsh if you're at the stage that I'm at: once you've passed the novelty of making it, you realise that in the long-term, financially, it's frustrating if you want to remain at the design end of architecture. It's difficult to support yourself compared to other professionals with the same success.

Where do you live now? I'm living between two places at the moment, both flats in converted terraces.

In which building would you most like to live? Highpoint by Lubetkin.

Which building would you most like to have designed? The Ali Quapu Palace in Isfahan.

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